Today the state of North Carolina enters into its first phase of what folks call opening back up. I’m getting hung up on the phrase opening back up. Who is opening? What is being opened? Who/what had a chance to close? Who stopped? Who had to keep going? What types of interactions have changed? Who’s ready to open back up? Why are they ready?

Many will be re-engaging the economy of businesses, production, retail. The economy of caring for one another and meeting survival needs never stopped and will continue. From the perspective of a caring economy, what would we call this next phase? What would we call the last phase?

If we are looking from a public health perspective, what do we call this next phase? We’re experimenting with what happens to the spread of a highly contagious virus when people engage in more interaction and physical contact. Is this the move-cautiously phase?

A phase shift will continue to affect different people differently.

I’ve appreciated the metaphor going around that we might all be in the same global pandemic storm, but we are not in the same boat. We are each having our own pandemic experience. Different factors contribute to how our lives are being impacted, disrupted, stressed, nourished, restructured, improved, devastated, stolen, transformed.

Heather Laine Talley and I have been processing together as we navigate through these waters, noticing different factors that shape what moment to moment and day to day reality looks and feels like.

I’m a visual person so I created the below image as a way to help myself see varying influences — our own health, the people we live with, the people we love, the location and space we live in, if our survival needs are met or not, our sense of financial security, our working conditions, wether we’ve got children or not, the precautions we are taking to protect ourselves and the people we are in contact with, our sense of belonging and connection, our thoughts about the future. There are so many different qualities to each of these influences. And thus a world of possibilities for how each person is experiencing this moment. (I was creatively surprised when I realized the image looked like Covid-19.)

An invitation to each of us is to reflect on this image and notice:

• Which areas kindle feelings of gratitude, connection, love, hope?
• Where do you feel supported or resourced?
• Which areas incite stress or anxiety? Feelings of isolation, loneliness or hopelessness?
• Where might you ask for support or reach out for connection?
• What else is influencing your experience?

May we be aware to the fact that each of us are having our own pandemic experience. Let’s be as patient and understanding as possible. Let’s allow expectations to shift. Let’s watch out for the tales our minds spin about what’s true for another person. What seems clear and obvious from one perspective can be wildly different for someone living a very different reality right now.

If you have access to a printer, a friend suggested that we print out the image and color it in according to the questions above (or your own questions). I’d love to see yours if you play in that way. And if you have ideas for what else could be on this map, or responses to questions I’ve asked, please do comment. I’m grateful for the additions to the below image from Heather Laine Talley, Dr. Dwight Mullen, and conversations with others as we toss around in these waters.